Bruce Lee: The martial arts genius
Bruce Lee’s mastery of the martial arts is undeniable.
Watching him in action, it’s hard not to be impressed by his unrivaled ability to take down his opponents in style. It’s more than just cinematic magic; it’s a glimpse into the genius of a legend.
While it’s clear that these are movie scenes, it’s obvious that there’s a deeper art at play here that goes beyond mere movie choreography.
Bruce Lee was not just a movie star, he revolutionized the martial arts world and made it famous with Jeet Kune
Do, or JKD for short. Nevertheless, JKD remains the most enigmatic of all fighting styles. What is JEET KUNE DO and why is it so effective?
The great confusion
The challenge of understanding JEET KUNE DO lies in its essence. If you ask a handful of people, you will probably hear five different views. If you research the internet, you’ll come across a wealth of knowledge, much of it gleaned from Bruce Lee’s personal notes.
The catch? His quotes leave a lot of room for interpretation, so you’ll come across a range of different views. I promise we’ll clarify those interpretations and the context of Bruce’s ideas soon.
The Name
Let’s just start with the facts. As the saying goes, the name is the game.
- JEET: means to intercept, to intervene
- KUNE: means fist
- DO: is the method or the way
JEET KUNE DO is therefore the way of the intercepting fist. This means always being one step ahead of the attacker in order to stop his attack the moment it arises. In other words, controlling the timing, rhythm and distance of your opponent.
Well… it is not surprising that Bruce Lee himself describes exactly this in a letter to his friend Taky Kimura. In fact, that he will create a system that does exactly this strategy.
A system is defined by its strategy
The essence of every martial art is its strategy. The strategy of judo is completely different to that of Muai Tai or Boxing. A Judoka tries to throw, leverage and immobilize, whereas a Boxer wants to knock out his opponent. So when we see Judo and Boxing side by side, for example, it is quite clear which is which. Based on the strategy, we can distinguish exactly which martial art we are dealing with.
Jeet Kune Do is no exception here, it is also defined by its strategy. In conclusion, we can say that all martial arts techniques, including Jeet Kune Do, are the means to implement the strategy of a martial art.
Now that we know which strategy Jeet Kune Do pursues, we can also distinguish exactly whether what we are seeing is Jeet Kune Do or not. Because in the end, a punch is just a punch and a kick is just a kick….
